The Greatest Gifts You’ll Ever Receive

The greatest gift you will ever receive is the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. Jeus tells us in John 3:16, “God SO LOVED the world that HE GAVE his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life!” ALL of God’s gifts for us are wrapped in Jesus as Paul explains in Romans 8:32, “Since God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, then can we not expect that, WITH HIM, God will freely give us ALL his gifts?”

 What happens when we accept God’s Gift of Jesus? It’s truly incredible! First God gives us a new identity in Him. Paul explains the process in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “When someone accepts Christ, he becomes a brand-new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!” God transforms us afresh, changing the way we think so we can know exactly what He wants for us – a live lived to the fullest. 

God gives us a new ability. Paul describes it like this in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God does not give us a spirit of fear, but instead He fills us with power, love, and self-discipline.” He then adds in Philippians 2:13, “Now God works IN you, giving you both the desire and the ABILITY to fulfill his good purpose for you.”  

 Not only does God give us new abilities, but a new community. Paul spells it out in Ephesians 1:4-5, “Because of his love, God’s unchanging plan has always been to ADOPT US into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.” He describes it further in 1 Timothy 3:15, “That family is the church of the living God, the support and foundation of the truth.” 

Finally, God gives us a new destiny! Peter explains in 1 Peter 1:4, “God has reserved for his children the priceless gift of eternal life; it is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.”

 As we celebrate the Christmas season, let’s pray Paul’s prayer from Ephesians 3:18-19 pray for one another so we can experience fully the greatest gifts of all. 

“I PRAY that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. And I pray you’ll be able to feel and understand how long, how wide, how deep, and how high God’s love for you really is; and to EXPERIENCE THIS LOVE for yourself, though it is so great you’ll never fully understand it.”